They Will Be Remembered
by Aaronna
Summary: On the day of memorial, Arthur notices a list Merlin is writing. Warning: this was written quickly, thus it may contain a number of errors. Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin
1. Merlin's list

AN: Happy Memorial Day to all of my American readers. I meant to write one of these for my Australian readers back on April 25th and one on May the fourth for those from the Netherlands, but it didn't happen. I am planning on writing a second chapter in November for my readers from Germany and the UK.

Also, please pardon spelling and grammar errors there might be. This story was written in less than an hour…

Let me know how you liked it by dropping me a short review, or long if you want.

/\\\/\\\

Every year Uther commemorated the start of the Great purge with a series of celebrations. Thankfully the meaning of this celebration changed under Arthur's rule. It was no longer a celebration of the mass murder of people used magic and those who had helped them. Under Arthur, it was a day to celebrate and remember those lost in battle, be they soldier or civilian, so that the people knew that they were all important to their king.

One year, on the day of memorial, Arthur saw Merlin sitting on the main flight of stairs into the citadel, writing a list. The list had three columns and was written on both sides of the parchment and Merlin had already filled five sheets already and seemed to still be hard at work. Arthur left Merlin to his list and went to eat lunch with the knights.

Three hours later, Arthur returned from a hardy meal and hours of tales of fallen brother-in-arms. Arthur found Merlin still writing that list, but a breeze had come through and slightly scattered the pile of filled parchments. Seeing that Merlin was too absorbed in his task to notice the sheets slowly escaping, Arthur reached down and started straightening the goodly sized mound of parchment.

Arthur had not meant to pry, but while shifting the sheets, he noticed a name. The name was Lancelot. Upon a closer look, Arthur realized that this was a list of names. But not just any names, those who had died since Merlin had come to Camelot. The list had three parts: Name, occupation, and how they died.

At that moment Arthur felt like he had been hit by a mace in the gut. Merlin had already filled out at least a dozen sheets, each with twenty names on each face and Merlin was not finished yet. That meant that Merlin had known at least five hundred people who had died in the last seven years.

Looking closer at the list, Arthur found a number of names he knew and many he didn't. Some died in the Afanc plague, others in the dragon attack, but what real shook Arthur was the entry for Gwen's father, Tom.

"Thomas or Tom One of Camelot's finest blacksmiths Killed for being forced to work for a sorcerer in fear for his daughter's life"

Arthur realized something about his servant friend at that moment. Merlin kept everything that happens around him hidden away in his heart. It was little wonder that Merlin always had the deeper part of him that would sometimes show itself in those wise moments. It was the inner sadness that Merlin didn't wish to bother others with.

Looking over at his oblivious manservant, Arthur saw tears running down the young man's face. Looking down at what Merlin had written he was the only three entries on that side of the parchment.

"William or Will Town troublemaker and my best friend growing up Arrow to the chest saving Arthur

Balinor The last Dragonlord and healer Run through with a sword protecting me

Freya Druid girl and my first love Stabbed by my best friend and died in my arms"

Reading this brought tears to the king's eyes. Arthur quickly finished tidying the pile and fled before Merlin noticed him.

Back in his chambers, Arthur let the tears fall. Merlin had a deep sadness inside him that was hidden behind jokes, taunts, laughs, and smiles. If Arthur hadn't read those parts of the list he would never have believed Merlin capable of hiding anything, let alone something this big.

There was only one thing that seemed to comfort Arthur about all of this. No one that Merlin had ever known, alive or dead, would ever be forgotten. And that was a comfort to the king.


	2. The tome

AN: As promised, a November chapter. I don't like it as much as the first one, but I hope you enjoy it. Happy Armistice/Veterans Day. May those who fell be remembered.

/\\\/\\\

Arthur had never thought of creating a memorial for those who fell in the fight to reclaim Camelot, twice. Those who were killed by the Dorocha, had slipped his mind as well. But when his new wife wanted him to come with her to the stone marker for her father, he realized the living needed a place to mourn.

Stone cutters in the lower town could make what the king wanted, they just needed the names of the dead. Arthur attempted to make the list himself, but quickly realized he didn't even know all of the knights and guards who had died, let alone anyone else. That was when he turned to the court librarian.

When Geoffrey heard the plan, tears pooled in his eyes and he smiled with a mixture of sadness and joy. He then peppered the king with questions about who all should be on the memorial. Arthur was shocked to know that the man had the names organized by how they died. As the old knight pulled volumes out of the shelf, he avoided the newest looking volume.

"What is that one of?" Arthur's eyes were locked onto the massive volume that had clearly been cared for, but was kept with the lists of the dead.

"That, Sire, is the account of all those executed under the name of magic. I have never added a single name to it, yet more entries are added to it. Some die in remote villages, others at Camelot's hand. Your father tried to destroy it, but it resisted all attempts." The librarian sounded almost pleased at the end.

"How many names are in it? As a rough guess?" The thickness of the record promised a large total.

"I needn't guess Sire, there is a death count on the first page that increases with each new entry." With that said, the older man gently moved the book to the desk before opening it.

Written in an easily read hand were the words,

"This is the record of the forgotten fallen of Camelot. This record contains the names, description, and cause of death of those who were thought to have practiced the Old Religion.

Number of fallen to date - 498,184

This total does not include those killed by other practitioners, those fallen in battle, or those who killed themselves in fear of Camelot's wrath.

The first entry was created the day of the Queen's passing and the birth of the new Prince. The record will continue until the end of the slaughter in the name of purging magic. "

Arthur's eyes widen as he whips his head up to meet the librarian's eye. "Almost five hundred Thousand! That is nearly the entire population of Camelot! How can there be that many dead?"

Geoffrey gave the king a look of pity before flipping further into the tome.

"Mary, the weaver's daughter. 12 years old, flaxen hair, green eyed, and very freckled. Smothered in her sleep by her mother after she performing magic in her sleep."

Looking up, Arthur saw the older man nod before gesturing for him to keep reading.

"Unnamed male infant, child of the late Dragon Lord Cornelius and the village seamstress. Red hair and brown eyes. Drowned by midwife moments after birth due to his heritage."

The next entry,

"Sam, the carpenter's apprentice. 14 years old, dark haired, deeply tanned skin, and a citizen of Carleon. Executed for harboring an ill druid child. Child escaped."

And the next,

"Lady Anna of Monmouth. 79 years old, bedridden for years. Poisoned by her servant upon learning the old woman had once been a sorceress."

Arthur was about to go on to the next entry when Sir Geoffrey spoke. "Lady Anna was my mother. Cole, her servant, had cared for her since she had fallen and injured her back. That injury was the reason for her living in her bed. One day he found one of her old journals from over fifty years before, in which she wrote of her excitement in finally getting a spell to work."

Arthur stared at the man, sadness clear in both of their features. "If the law has led the citizens of Camelot to kill each other in fear, then it is an unjust law. Those children were innocent, yet my father's law states that they must die. If someone uses their magic to harm anyone, then so be it, but not children…" The king trailed off as he thought of all the druid children that he himself had killed.

/\\\/\\\

It took a few months, but slowly Arthur and Geoffrey wrote up new laws on magic and organized the creation of two monuments; one for those killed in both of the reclaimings of Camelot and one for those who died due to the Great Purge.

They managed to keep the group of people who knew about what was going to happen down to just a handful of stonecutters and a few strong men to put up the monoliths bearing the names of the dead. Keeping it a secret from Merlin had been the hardest part. The servant seemed utterly baffled at the king's weekly visit to the archives.

At first Arthur had been amused by the looks that passed over the lad's face, but when the entry for Balinor showed up, the king's amusement turned to a mixture of anger and sadness.

"Balinor, the next to last Dragon Lord. 47 years old with dark hair and eyes. Died at sword point protecting his son after 20 years of being hunted by King Uther."

Balinor had died in Merlin's arms. Merlin was the son. The sons of a Dragon Lord become one themselves when their fathers die. Merlin is a Dragon Lord and hid the fact, but Arthur couldn't bring himself to hold it against the boy. He lived in a kingdom that would kill him for gaining a gift at the expense of his father's life.

No, Arthur wasn't angry at Merlin, but he was furious with the late king. Arthur was saddened to know that it was his father's fault that Merlin never got to know his own. This fact just hardened the blonde's resolve to demolish the ban on magic. If anyone deserved to be free, it was Merlin.

/\\\/\\\

It was nearly winter when the monuments were ready. Arthur was surprised at how well the people took the repeal of the law, but is was a pleasant one. Looking to his right he saw the pride on Guinevere's face. He thought nothing could feel better, but he was wrong.

No sooner did the king come back inside than he was pulled into a strong, yet trembling, hug by a weeping Merlin. The hug turned from one of thanks to one of comfort as the servant's tears and shaking increased. As the king comforted his friend, the warlock began to apologize to and thank the king.

Arthur told his servant he knew about Balinor, but that lead to a new bout of sobs. Soon Merlin spouted the entire story to the king. In the end, they both sat on the floor, still hugging, as their tears fell. Now it was the king's turn to apologize and thank the man who had saved him from death and himself.

As the two halfs of the coin finally came together, the people of Camelot celebrated the armistice between those with and those without magic and the beginning of Albion.

/\\\/\\\

Merlin, finally returning home after the tearful bonding with Arthur, stopped dead at the sight of Sir Geoffrey of Monmouth sitting at Gaius's work bench grinding herbs. With the Book.

"You knew." As the words came out of his mouth, Merin couldn't tell if he was stating a fact or asking a question.

The archivist smile at the warlock. "I know every book in my collection. When this one showed up, you were the only person to have visited me in weeks. Also, the first page is written backward to hide it's author, a trick Gaius used during the early years of the Purge."

The boy wizard stared at the tome. "Should I tell him I wrote it?"

"No." Merlin's hanging head shot up to look at the old knight. "You should not tell your soul's brother. If you did that, this record loses its greatness and mystery. No Emrys, it should remain unsigned to show future generations why a trait is not a reason to do war."

"All men are doomed to repeat history" Merlin stated.

Geoffrey nodded. "True, despite my wish it was not true. Just be glad none of us will live to see it."

Merlin smiled despite his magic's claims to the contrary, but why worry the old man with such a painful truth. History would march on and Emrys right along with it, forever. Remembering them all.


End file.
